May Home Sales Soar in Central Ohio, Fall Nationally

Are we still in a buyer's market? It depends on your neighborhood and price range.

clipped from www.dispatch.com Tuesday, June 22, 2010 11:35 AM By Jim Weiker THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Central Ohio home sales rose in May, but a close look at the figures suggests a slow summer ahead for the housing industry. More than 2,400 central Ohio homes changed hands in May, 33 percent more than last May and 15 percent more than April, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. But the jump for the most part reflects the lingering impact of a federal tax break for home buyers. Many of those deals were inked in March and April, before the tax break expired April 30. The number of central Ohio homes in contract dropped 30 percent from April to May as buying cooled without a government incentive. Home sales statewide rose 28 percent last month compared with May 2009, as buyers finalized purchases made while the tax credit was in force. "The federal home-buyer tax credit incentive proved to be a big boost to the Ohio housing market, evidenced by the tremendous uptick in activity levels we experienced throughout the spring," said Doug McCloud, a Blacklick agent who is president of the Ohio Association of Realtors. "The key will be in continuing that momentum in the coming months now that the incentive has expired." Nationally, home sales dipped 2.2 percent, defying expectations that the tax credits would lift sales in May and June. The report is "a worrisome sign for what will occur in July and thereafter when the effect of the tax credit is behind us," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc., an economic consulting firm in New York. Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.